High quality decorative kitchen textiles such as placemats, potholders oven mitts, tablecloths, and napkins are always in demand and highly sought after for home and commercial applications. The reproduction of sharp and durable images with extraordinary image resolution and retention on such textile products remains a constant problem and unmet need in the textile producing industry.
The current methods used to produce printed placemats is silk screening. Silk screening produces a relatively poor image with low color and image retention after final assembly using pre-printed fabrics. Further, the image produced by silk screening is not durable and fades when washed. Accordingly, it is highly desirable to have a printed placemat, potholder, or oven mitt with durable and sharp image that is efficient and economical to produce. Until the present invention, it was not known to use a sublimation transfer process for placemats, potholder, or oven mitts. The placemat, potholder, or oven mitt of the present invention have sharp images that can withstand repeated washings without fading.